Workers Club

The tradition of the worker's club is somewhat of an institution in these parts. Having a local watering hole where you can rest your bones and sink a few cold ones is an Australian right, there's no two ways about it. So it's with pride that the Worker's Club has opened its doors. Formerly the Rob Roy, the hotel has been given a scrub and a new fit-out - complete with recycled materials and new furniture - to give it a new lease on life. A partnership between the team at the Evelyn Hotel and Jerome (of St Jerome's fame), the Worker's Club had a lot going for it even before its doors opened. The main bar has a casual, African hunting lodge feel to it - owing to the plywood walls and state school-inspired furniture - broken only by the cubist patterns on the wall. The bar serves up several ice-cold beers and a variety of reliable, if predictable, spirits onto the well-tiled bar. There's also a reasonable list of wines should you want for something a little more luxurious than a pot. You can then enjoy your chosen poison in the bar or the bandroom down the hall. There's even a modest smokers's courtyard out back if you're in the mood for a dart. And being programmed by the capable hands of the Evelyn, you know that local and interstate acts will hit the stage here with gusto. Yes, the Worker's Club definitely has a lot going for it; and considering it offers this 'rough around the edges' area a bit of polish, it may just become a local icon, like its predecessor once was.